Cash Seizures at Atlanta International Airport
If your cash was seized by federal agents at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, contact an experienced attorney who can help you get the money back. After a seizure of cash at the Atlanta airport, attorney Leslie M. Sammis can immediately file a claim for court action.
At Sammis Law Firm, we often take these cases on a contingency basis, so you don’t pay any attorney fees unless the seized money is returned. When it comes to cash being seized at the airport, experience matters. We welcome your calls to find out how we can best serve you.
The money seized can be found in checked luggage or a carry-on bag. Either way, you should hire an experienced attorney to fight for the return of the money after the seizure to avoid the forfeiture action.
The rules vary depending on whether you are headed on a domestic or international flight. The rules also vary depending on which agency seized the money. The agencies that seize money at the airport in Atlanta include:
- Homeland Security Investigations (HSI);
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP);
- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); and
- Clayton County Police Department;
- other local law enforcement agencies.
No matter the circumstances, trying to get the money back by yourself is not a good do-it-yourself project. The agency that issued the “notice of seizure” wants you to give up your rights to court action by doing nothing or just going along with an administrative action for remission or mitigation.
Without an experienced attorney, you will end up waiting eight (8) or more months only to find out your claim was denied through a form letter.
Instead, hire an attorney immediately who can bypass the administrative procedures and demand court action, which triggers a 90-day deadline for an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the civil asset forfeiture unit to respond.
Attorney for Cash Seizures at the Airport in Atlanta, GA
How do you get the seized money back? An attorney can immediately demand that any state or federal law enforcement agency that took the cash refer the matter for “early judicial intervention” or “court action.”
If a federal agency seized the money at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, then after the agency receives your claim, it must immediately send the matter directly to an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) working in the civil asset forfeiture unit for the Northern District of Georgia.
The AUSA has only 90 days to decide whether to file a complaint in federal court or return 100% of the seized funds.
When appropriate, your attorney can provide documents or evidence to show the AUSA why returning the money is required by the facts of the case. Alternatively, your attorney can focus on whether the detention was illegal at its inception or became unreasonably prolonged.
One of the best ways to show the search was without consent or otherwise illegal requires securing the video surveillance from the airport authorities at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The airport authorities do not make it easy to get the video, but it can be obtained through an emergency court order filed within 10 days of the seizure.
We also represent clients after a seizure of their cash at the Savannah / Hilton Head International Airport.
If you have questions about seizures of cash at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport or the Savannah / Hilton Head International Airport, contact attorney Leslie Sammis at the Sammis Law Firm for a free consultation to discuss the case.
Call 813-250-0500.
Seizures of U.S. Currency at the Airport in Atlanta, GA
Did you know that federal agents look at the travel information in order to find people that might be transporting money for narcotics traffickers or money launders?
In addition to federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), local law enforcement officers with the Clayton County Police Department might seize the cash at the Atlanta airport.
In most cases, the federal drug agent never makes an arrest or builds a criminal case. Instead, the DEA, HSI, or CBP agent is motivated to seize the money when the person arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Additionally, federal agencies use a complex network of surveillance to locate individuals carrying large amounts of cash on domestic or international flights coming into or out of Atlanta, GA.
U.S. Currency is embedded with a magnetic strip. During the process of going through the security checkpoint, bulk cash can easily be detected in the carry-on luggage. Scanners find currency in check baggage.
Over the past ten (10) years, the DEA has seized more than $200 million in cash from more than 5,000 people. The vast majority of that money was forfeited to the federal government through the civil asset forfeiture process, often because a timely claim was never made properly.
People often miss the deadline because the claim has to be RECEIVED by the agency before the deadline or they claim that they never received it.
According to a recent news article, a former supervisor of the DEA group assigned to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport admitted that DEA counts on cash seizures at the airport for part of their budget.
With the COVID-19 (coronavirus) global pandemic, the number of cash seizures at airports in the United States is expected to increase even if overall traffic in the airport is down.
Bringing Cash on an International Flight Out of Atlanta
No state or federal law limits the amount of cash you can carry with you to the airport for a domestic flight. But you might be detained if the federal agents discover the cash. The agent might question you about where the money came from.
If the agent develops “probable cause” to suspect that the money is being used in the drug trade or for money laundering, then the agent might seize the money and issue you a receipt pending further investigation.
If you are traveling internationally, you have something else to worry about. You must file a form FinCEN 105, Currency and Monetary Instrument Report (CMIR) if you or anyone in your group is carrying more than $10,000 in total cash or monetary instruments.
For international flights, the federal agency does necessarily need probable cause to believe the money is being used for drug or money laundering. Instead, just the fact that you did not complete the form FinCEN 105 correctly is enough to seize the money (although an attorney can present defenses to the AUSA or in court to get it back).
We fight cases in which money was seized at the airport in Atlanta before domestic and international flights. Just because a federal agent seized the money does not mean the federal government will be able to keep it. By hiring an attorney to demand “early judicial intervention” or “court action,” you can fight for the return of the money seized.
Never pursue an administrative action for remission, mitigation, or offer in compromise, without talking to an attorney about the pros and cons of that approach.
Call an attorney at Sammis Law Firm to find out all of the reasons you need an experienced attorney to file your verified claim for court action and to secure a copy of any surveillance video of the detention.
Homeland Security’s Receipt for Seized Property
If an agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security seizes your money or other property at the airport in Atlanta before a domestic or international flight, then the agent might provide you with a “Custody Receipt for Seized Property and Evidence.” The receipt references Handbook 5200-09.
A case with a prior detention requires a continuance sheet to be attached for DHS Form 6051A. The receipt contains the following information:
- FPF No.
- Incident No. (13 digits)
- Investigation Case No.
- EID Event Number
- Prior Detention? ___Yes ___No ___If yes, DHS 6051D No.
- Date Seized
- Time Seized
- FDIN/Misc
- Seized From: Name, Address, Telephone No.
- Entry No.
- Seal or Other ID Nos.
- Remarks: TOTSPC
- Send Correspondence to: U.S. CBP, ATTN: FPFO, 157 TRADEPORT DRIVE, ATLANTA, GA, 30354, TEL. NO. 404-675-1233
- Property (By Line Item) Attach CBP 58 if a conveyance
- Line Item No.
- Description
- Package
- Measurements
- Est. Dom. Value
- Seizing Officer: Print Name, Signature, Date
- Acceptance / Chain of Custody
- Line Item No.
- Description
- Print Name / Title/ Organization
- Signature
- Date
Preserving Surveillance Video from the Atlanta International Airport
If you want to preserve video from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, your open records request will be processed by the Public Relations Manager Policy and Communications at Atlanta’s Department of Aviation. The Department of Aviation will locate any video footage related to the open records request.
According to federal law and 49 CFR Part 1520, the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) is required to preview the video footage for any sensitive security information.
Under the Georgia Open Records Act, the video footage may also be exempt from disclosure pursuant to O.C.G.A. §§50-18-72(a)(1) and (a)(25)(A). As provided by O.C.G.A. §50-18-71(c)(1), the City of Atlanta is permitted to charge administrative costs associated with the search, retrieval, and copying of the requested video.
The City of Atlanta will submit the video to TSA for further review and anticipates TSA’s response within two weeks, if not sooner. The Public Relations Manager of Policy and Communications, at the Department of Aviation, will contact you after TSA determines whether the video footage may be released.
The Public Relations Manager will then send a letter explaining what video footage was found by Atlanta’s Department of Aviation. The letter also explains whether the Transportation Security Administration has reviewed the video and determined that it does not contain any sensitive security information.
The letter explains that there is no administrative charge for the first 15 minutes of staff time utilized to search for, retrieve, and copy the requested material. As provided by O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(c)(1), the City of Atlanta is permitted to charge administrative costs associated with the search, retrieval, and copying of the requested material. The hourly rate for staff time to search, retrieve, and prepare the video is $21.61 per hour.
To the extent you desire or elect to receive a copy of the materials as authorized by O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(c)(2), the fee assessed will be $5.00 per CD. The letter will also explain the estimate of time and costs associated with the request. Please note that any estimates of time and cost are subject to revision (either increasing or lowering the estimated amounts) depending upon the actual time spent searching for, retrieving, and reviewing the records.
When the video CDs become available, they will be mailed to you at the address listed above. In responding to your request, the City does not waive, and expressly reserves, any and all statutory exemptions from disclosure not specifically set forth herein but set forth in O.C.G.A §§ 50-18-70 et seq.
A copy of your request will also be provided to the Airport General Manager at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the Senior Assistant City Attorney, and the Director of Policy and Communications, and the Municipal Clerk.
This article was last updated on Wednesday, November 27, 2024.